what we are reading – EightandHalf
It was suppose to be Vikram’s big bollywood debut. But what actually happened? Well, we all know the story. The general feedback was that the Tamil version was better than the Hindi one. In the Tamil version, Vikram played Beera, the same role which was played by Abhishek Bachchan in the Hindi version. And a film buff cut a very cool video – put Vikram in double role. Watch the video.
And he has a cut a new trailer of the film in the same way
If you are baffled by the equation in the header, let me dissect it one by one.
TDP – The Dirty Picture
I & B – Ministry of Information and Broadcasting
KLPD – That’s easy. And if not, google. One should know it.
So what really happened?
Last year’s one of the biggest hits, The Dirty Picture was suppose to be aired today on Sony TV at 12 and 8pm. Since the film was rated Adult, there was a petition against the film to stop its telecast. But the Nagpur bench of Bombay High Court cleared its screening after the film went through 56 cuts. The PTI report which was carried in TOI is here.
Then last night (21st april) at about 11pm, the I & B Ministry sent a notice and asked Sony to stop the telecast. Print Ads were out in the newspapers today. Promos were running. All of a sudden it was a KLPD. Nobody knows exactly why.
What’s baffling is the way the notice was sent in last minute. Also, once the Court has cleared it, can the Ministry stop it? Am not sure how does it work. If someone knows, please do enlighten us in the comments.
And this comes at a time when the Censor Board is really trying to push the envelope and is in favour of a new rating system. With new members on board, there’s an approach to give more freedom to the filmmakers. It’s like one step forward and two backwards.
This can happen only in this country – the lead actress gets the National Award for the film but the film isn’t allowed to be telecast. May be because the government has better Dirty Pictures to offer, like this one.
What we know – Ashim Ahluwalia’s debut feature Miss Lovely is going to Cannes in Un Certain Regard section this year. The film is set in Bombay’s B/C grade film industry and it stars Nawazuddin Siddiqui, Niharika Singh and Anil George.
What we don’t know – what does the film look like? No stills/clips/trailer available on the net so far. What’s it all about?
And so we have got it all. The official synopsis and some stills from the film.
OFFICIAL SYNOPSIS
Bombay, 1988. Vicky and Sonu are brothers and partners in crime. They produce “C” grade films in the lower depths of Bollywood – lurid horror films, erotic bandit pictures, sleazy social dramas. From a humid one-hour hotel, amidst spilled whisky and bouts of womanizing, Vicky churns out illicit titles like “Dolly Darling” and “Lady James Bond” for India’s small-town picture houses. He leaves the donkey-work to Sonu, his withdrawn, dim-witted younger sibling, who often cleans up after him.
Returning exhausted from a sales trip peddling erotic reels in the hinterland, Sonu encounters a mysterious girl on the train and is drawn to her fragile beauty. She’s only just arrived in Bombay and her vulnerability soothes his own sense of despair. Her name is Pinky and she appears to be a struggling actress.
Vicky dismisses the girl as a gullible piece of flesh but Sonu is desperate, bewitched by Pinky’s silent radiance. He knows that only she can save him; make his emptiness disappear.
As the seasons change, Sonu begins to resent his hard-edged brother. He no longer wants toslave for Vicky’s lawless operation and decides to make a film of his own, with Pinky in the lead. A double debut – producer and star. It’s a reckless, nihilistic venture with no story and no crew in place. But he has a title – the film will be called ‘Miss Lovely’ and Sonu will do whatever it takes to make it.
But nothing is what it seems in this garish underworld of shifting alliances, double dealing, and quivering flesh. Out on the streets three years later, Sonu realizes that his whole world has turned upside down.
A baroque tale of betrayal and doomed love, the animal instincts of the struggling actress prove to be the most cutthroat of all. As paranoia and violence spiral out of control, brother turns on brother, and blood spills like water. Sonu, now alone and abandoned, aimlessly wanders the streets, junkyards and film studios, aching for one last glimpse of Pinky.
Click here to read an interview of Ashim on the making of Miss Lovely.
F.i.g.h.t C.l.u.b 